Nintendo Figurines Officially Named Amiibo

Nintendo has been teasing its upcoming figurine hardware for Wii U for awhile, and now they have been officially announced as Amiibo. Amiibo are Skylanders-esque figures of your favorite Nintendo characters, like Mario and Link, that can connect with many Wii U games in different ways.

The example given in today’s presentation was Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, where Amiibo can be used to bring an AI character into a battle to aid you. By putting an Amiibo of Mario on the GamePad’s NFC sensor, Mario will enter the battle, fight for you, then gain experience based on that fight. The Amiibo will get stronger each time you use them, so you and your friends can battle your Amiibo characters against each other to see whose is stronger.

Amiibos were teased for a number of games. They will work with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Yoshi’s Wooly World, Mario Kart 8, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, and Mario Part 10. Nintendo also announced a special connector that will allow you to use your Amiibos with your 3DS as well.

Amiibo will release later this year alongside Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. To learn even more about them, check out the trailer above.